More than 50 truck drivers from Ilan County protested outside the Legislative Yuan yesterday morning, asking the government to exempt them from paying fuel and license plate taxes.
They said the continual rise in gasoline prices had caused their operational costs to jump as much as 60 percent, making it difficult for them to survive.
They warned that if the government did nothing to alleviate their plight, they would mobilize thousands of trucks to protest in the city.
PHOTO: CNA
Commenting on the truck drivers’ protest, the Truck Cargo Transportation Association said yesterday it respected the right of each member to appeal as they also have the right to speak for themselves.
The association said it had already sent an official application to the Directorate General of Highways (DGH) last week asking for an increase in the base charge for transportation in response to rising gasoline prices.
The association asked for a rate increase from NT$7.19 per tonne-km to NT$7.82 per tonne-km, or an increase of 8.8 percent.
The association said, however, that it had decided to temporarily withdraw the application as the Executive Yuan is scheduled to increase retail gasoline prices again next Tuesday, and the base transportation charge would have to be recalculated.
Nonetheless, the association had stated in its application the urgency of raising the base charge. It said that the DGH last year allowed cargo truck service operators to raise their base charge when retail diesel prices exceeded NT$27.23 per liter.
The diesel price has already risen to NT$31.9 per liter, the association said.
Earlier this month, the association also asked for government subsidies on fuel, as it argued that cargo truck transportation should also be categorized as public transportation service.
DHG Director-General James Chen (陳晉源) said that current regulations on tax breaks and subsidies do not apply to trucking services.
“But they are entitled to raise their charges, and the review process should be completed really quickly,” he said.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS